Next, this past weekend I went up to Kenosha Pass for some higher altitude mountain biking. Turns out this trail was a bit beyond my current skill-level. The trail was full of roots and rocks. After biting it pretty bad earlier in the week -- my arms and abdomen are just now becoming scab-free -- I wasn't taking any chances on descents or treacherous turns. Despite my slow going, I got in a descent work out, enhancing my handling skills on rough stuff, and reinforced my belief that riding 10,000 feet isn't too bad. My ability to climb quickly will hopefully make up for my otherwise tentative riding.
Even the parking lots is pretty (typical cloudy Colorado day):
That path guides me down into the right side of the valley and then up into those mountains:
Unfortunately, most of the trail was much tougher than this:
Moving on to the topic of this post, "How do I train for a 50 mile run?", I find myself second guessing the balance I've struck between consistent training and doing longs runs that come at all close to the event's actual demands. I've done a 3.5 hour long run each of the past few weeks, and lately I've been getting in around 4,000 feet of climbing but covering not even 20 miles. I'm tired toward the end of these runs, but I could do more if needed. Given that I'll be running 9-10 hours to cover nearly 50 miles with 7,000+ feet of elevation gain during the run, I wonder if my long runs are adequate. I contemplate attempting a 5 hour run and shooting for 30 mountainous miles. That'd take me close to 2/3 of the event, bolstering my confidence.
But, what would that run cost? I don't want to injure myself, and I don't want to be unable to get in another training bout for several days. Right now, I need a day off after my long run, and I usually have to take the following day very easy, too. Adding 1.5 hours onto already strenuous run may detract too much from bike training that I also need.
At this point, I've settled on this compromise: I'll do the training that sounds fun. If I feel the urge to run 5 hours, I will. If not, I won't. While this may not be ideal for my time during the Silver King, at least I'm having fun during the preparation. I guess this year will be an experiment, and perhaps next year I'll take a stab at training to race instead of merely completing the event(s).
5 hours is tempting with these views (this one being near the top of Belcher hill following a nearly 5 mile, 2,000 foot climb to kick the run off):
Easy going:
I turned a switch back and almost ran smack into this guy. We were just 5 feet apart staring at each other for a moment before he bolted.
Check out the Garmin file here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/188167224 You may notice regular HR and pace drops. These are the 1 minute walk breaks I take every 5 minutes. My body is not ready a 50 mile continuous run, at least not yet. I'm planning to complete the event in the same fashion -- 5 minutes running, 1 minute walking.
________________________________________________________________________
So far I'm digging the new album Heaven by The Walkmen:
Nice ! :) Come Check out my Blog :) I'm new On Blogger ^_^
ReplyDelete